Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
As Flow Water Advocates’ inaugural Denis and Martha Pierce Environmental Law Fellow, Hope McLellan-Brandt supports Flow’s legal work to defend the Great Lakes. She graduated from Vermont Law School in 2024 with a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy. While in law school, Hope gained extensive experience in international environmental law,… Read more »
Published May 24, 2024; updated November 7, 2025 Do you enjoy celebrating the holidays with your friends and family? How about checking items off your bucket list, or watching the Super Bowl? Are cookies, chips, and pizza some of your guilty pleasures? Believe it or not, you can thank your friendly neighborhood pipeline company for… Read more »
Established in 1978, the Michigan Coastal Management Program (MCMP) provides technical assistance and strategic grant funding to assist in coastal communities’ ability to understand risks, and options to mitigate coastal hazards; create healthy habitats that provide for human use and enjoyment; support coastal eco-tourism opportunities while ensuring for safe public access; and support resilient and… Read more »
Register for the hearing on February 3, 6pm: Register here Learn more about the proposed permit: Download the fact sheet Flow Water Advocates and commenters oppose Gratiot County CAFO expansion; request public hearing. DOWNLOAD: Comments and Request for Public Hearing on Draft Permit MI0060380, KB Farm LLC-CAFO (PDF) Traverse City, Mich. — Flow Water Advocates… Read more »
Traverse City, Mich. — Flow Water Advocates (“Flow”) has filed an administrative appeal of a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) decision to reject Flow’s FOIA requests for logs Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are required by permit to maintain and disclose to EGLE and the public. These logs from fourteen CAFOs… Read more »
The Great Lakes are home to more than 240 lighthouses — more than any other region in the world. Built to protect sailors from treacherous reefs, storms, and shifting shoals, these monuments have also become haunting echoes of the past. Michigan’s 4 most haunted lighthouses 1. Seul Choix Point Lighthouse One of the most famous… Read more »
Michigan’s water infrastructure and affordability needs are critical and underfunded. Too many Michiganders struggle to pay their water bills, while rural and urban communities alike struggle with aging systems and contamination. That’s why a coalition of water advocates has developed the Michigan Water Trust Fund Act to protect water quality, advance water equity, and ensure… Read more »
On Saturday, November 8, 2025, Downtown Traverse City will host its annual Shop Your Community Day, a cherished event where 15% of every purchase at participating local businesses is donated to your choice of 30 nonprofit organizations. This initiative offers shoppers the unique opportunity to support both local businesses and meaningful causes, fostering a stronger,… Read more »
Flow’s mission is to ensure Michigan’s waters are healthy, public, and protected for everyone. Our priorities include water infrastructure funding, tackling nitrate contamination in drinking water, factory farm pollution, and the need for a statewide septic code. We track state budgets closely because they signal real-world priorities. The newly approved FY 2025-26 budgets for Michigan’s… Read more »
Carolan Sonderegger, Policy Director I attended the 2025 Great Lakes Conference expecting good content, but what stood out most wasn’t any single presentation or data point—it was the high level of collaboration happening across the region. Whether it was researchers, tribal leaders, farmers, nonprofit practitioners, or municipal officials, everyone was focused on the same core… Read more »
